Gutter-inserter.



No. 864,997. PATENTED SEPT. a, 1907.

D; A. SAPP. GUTTER INSERTER,

. JNVENTOI? ILAvm A. EAPP ATTORNEYS serter.

DAVlD ASA SAPP, OF TOWNS, GEORGIA.

v GU'ITER-INSERTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 9;, 1907.

Applicatio fil d January 18, 1907- Serial No. 352,917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID ASA Snrr, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Towns, in the county of Telfair and State of Georgia, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Gutter-lnserters, of which the following is a specification.

As is well known, turpentine is obtained by distillation of the exudation of coniferous trees, the trunks of the latter being chipped with an ax to remove the bark and the underlying portion of the trunk. By the preferred method, two adjacent flat faces are thus formed by chipping, the same being at an obtuse angle to each other. Then a diagonal cut is made from below, and at an upward inclination, in each face, to receive a sheet metal gutter which is bent longitudinally into angular form. Thetwo gutters are so arranged that one is at a higher point than the other, and is also shorter so as to discharge into the lower one, which in turn discharges into a cup hung below.

The insertion of the gutters is a work of considerable difficulty and I have devised a tool by which it can be effected easily, quickly, and accurately.

The details of construction of the said tool are as hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a turpentine tree ed, and the other being inserted by my improved tool. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the tool or gutter-in- Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modification.

The body 1 of the tool is preferably constructed of hard wood, but it may be made of any preferred mate rial, and is approximately triangular in cross section. It is provided with a longitudinal slot 2 adapted to receive one edge of a sheet metal gutter. This slot terminates adjacent to the head 3 of the body 1, and a block 4 of hard wood, or otherpreferred material, is inserted at that point for the purpose of receiving the impact of the gutter, in the operation of inserting it as hereinafter described. The head 3 of the body 1 is flat to adapt it for impact of a hammer, and from it projects a reduced cylindrical part 5, which is provided at its outer end with a detachable knob 6. Such part 5 is preferably formed integral with the body 1 but is in any case alined with it. 011 said part 5 a heavy metal sleeve 7 is adapted to slide, and serves in practice as a hammer whose impact upon the head 3 of the body 1 drives a gutter into place.

The manner of using the tool will now be understood by reference to Fig. l, where the lower and longer gutter x is shown already inserted, its inner edge being held in the upward cut or slit formed in the face to which it is applied, and the lower end projecting far enough to deliver the liquid into a cup 2 which is suspended from a nail. The other or upper gutter y is shown partly inserted, its inner edge lying in the cut made in the face of the tree trunk and the remainder of the gutter projecting from the trunk, while the body 1 of the inserting tool is shown applied to the opposite or outer edge of the gutter. It will be understood that the outer end of the gutter is held firmly against the block, or anvil, 4. The operator then reciprocates the hammer 7 with more or less rapidity, so that he delivers rapidly a succession of smart blows on the head 3 of the tool, with the result that the gutter y is quickly driven into place so that it occupies the position indicated by dotted lines, its inner end being adjacent to the angle between the two out faces of the tree trunk, so that it will deliver liquid into the lower gutter, x.

In Fig. 4 I show a modified form of gutter-inserter in which the body 1 is bound at the head with an iron, or steel, band 8, the rod 5 and sliding hammer 7 being dispensed with, the head being adapted for receiving blows from a hammer used independently. Further, in place of a block or anvil 4, such as shown in Fig. 2, a piece 4 of hard wood, or of metal, is inserted at the head of the slot 2 and arranged transverse to the latter.

The tool is adapted for insertion and extraction of the nails by which the cups 2 are attached to a tree trunk. For this purpose I provide the lower end of the body 1 with a lateral slot 9 whose inner end or head is enlarged as indicated in Fig. 2. The slot is thus adapted. to receive the head and adjacent portion of a nail and to hold it in proper position while being driven by the impact of the hammer 7 on the head 3 of the body 1 in the same manner as the hammer is used for inserting a gutter. By this means the cup nails may be inserted with great facility and rapidity. It is also apparent that the same slot 9 may serve also for use in extracting nails when required.

My improved device is a very effective substitute for the ordinary hammer which is commonly used in inserting gutters according to the old method. The impact of the hammer on the gutter ordinarily bends 0r upsets the ends of the gutters besides distorting them in shape which causes delay and expense since the gutters require to be hammered into original shape each year before they can be reused or moved up, which is done at the close of each chipping season. The gutter is not bent or upset when driven by my improved implement, and, what is even more important, the gutters are much more firmly secured in the cuts in the faces of the tree-trunk than is practicable by the old method, and hence the gutters retain their position firmly under nearly all conditions. Further, gutters may be inserted by my implement and method much more quickly and therefore more economically than by the old ones, and also without any dangerzof injury to the hands of the workmen in operation.

What I claim is 1. A tool for inserting gutters, the same consisting of an elongated body having in one side a longitudinal slot which is closed adjacent to the head of the tool, said slot being adapted to receive and hold by friction one edge of a gutter and the head being adapted for impact of a hammer for forcing a gutter into a cut in a tree trunk, as described.

2. The improved tool for inserting gutters, consisting of an elongated body having in one side a longitudinal slot which is closed at the upper end, an impact piece inserted at the head of the slot, and the head of the body being flat and adapted for impact of a hammer, as shown and described.

3. The improved tool for inserting gutters, consisting of an elongated body having in one side a longitudinal slot which is closed adjacent to the head of the tool, an extension from said head which is alined with the body of the tool, and a hammer adapted to slide on such extension and for impact with the head of the body, substantially as described.

4. The improved tool for inserting gutters, comprising an elongated body having in one side a longitudinal slot which is closed at the upper end, an impact piece inserted at the upper end of the slot, the head of the body being flattened, a reduced cylindrical extension 5 which is rigidly connected, and alined with 'said head, a detachable knob applied to the outer end of the extension, and a hammer comprising a metal sleeve which is of less length than the said extension and adapted to slide thereon in the man ner described.

DAVID ASA SAPP.

Witnesses E. F. McRAE, HOWARD P. WHInDoN. 

